Just hear me out on this one...

Yesterday morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, they were speaking with Michael Eric Dyson, author of the newly released biography on Marvin Gaye entitled Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye.

What they mentioned (which is what I've felt for quite some time now) is how this generation's "Marvin Gaye" is R. Kelly. Think about it, they both have written sexually driven songs (Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and Kelly's "Feelin' On Yo' Booty"), but also seemed to be at some type of conflict with the flesh and spirit and come up with some of the most beautiful/proflific ballads (think Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" and Gaye's "What's Going On").

What they also mentioned were the demons that seemed to have haunted them as well surrounding "young love" if you will. Case-in-point, we all know that R. Kelly has been charged with child pornography cases, but what many people didn't know was that Marvin Gaye has also had his share of "robing the cradle." Anna Gordy (his wife at the time) could not have children, so rather than adopting one, Anna's niece (who was only 15 BTW) had a child with Marvin (with the consent of her aunt) and the whole incident was kept very quiet for years.

I thought it was a rather interesting interview and felt I should share with my fellow orgers. What's your take on all of this?

okaypimpn said:

Marvin and R. Kelly in the same sentence??!!! I ougtta spank you right here. God no! R. Kelly couldn't match the genious of MG even on his best day!

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[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 14:21:17 2004 by okaypimpn]

Michael E. Dyson gave a talk at my school on 3/31. (Unfortunately, I found out about it yesterday. However, I did take his course on race when he was teaching at my school a few years ago. The man is awesome!) Anyway, he was there to discuss a new book he wrote on Marvin Gaye. Now, hearing this, I'm really sorry that I missed him. Hearing R. Kelly's name in the same sentence as Marvin's makes me shudder.

btw, isn't it Marvin's birthday (maybe it was yesterday)? They were playing some of his songs on the radio today. I heard this one song that I was really feeling. Gotta check out my box set to see if it's included.

I believe today is his birthday and yesterday was the anniversary of his death...if I'm not mistaken.

laylow03 said:

That's not the gist of what he said.

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[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 16:01:37 2004 by Supernova]

okaypimpn said:

Ok, "I Believe I Can Fly" is not in the league of any Marvin Gaye song. Comparing them musically is like comparing Tom Jones to Frank Sinatra, know what I mean?

Sexually, yeah, they both had problems. But while R. Kelly appears to have a compulsive need to screw underage girls, Marvin did not share that problem. Most of his life he felt sexually inadequate (Smokey Robinson once discussed Marvin's shame over his problem with premature ejaculation) and that he couldn't live up to his 'lover man' image. I was unaware of the story involving Anna's niece, but I'm not sure I believe it. It sounds a little "sensationalist biographer wants to make a splash" to me. I'd like to read the full version of the story before I pass judgement.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 16:32:30 2004 by VoicesCarry]

okaypimpn said:

What utter rubbish! So they both share a predilection for young girls? Big fucking deal! That's like mentioning Jerry Lewis and Gary "I'm a paeder" Glitter in the same line! Marvin and that twerp RK are a billion leagues apart in the talent stakes. Marvin created cathedrals out of his musical talent. R Kelly makes latrines.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 16:42:57 2004 by Shapeshifter]

I think you guys are being a little harsh. I believe he said R. Kelly was this generations Marvin Gaye. That is a reasonable statement. Of course they are worlds apart. But what would Marvin sound like if he were starting out today and what might R. Kelly have sounded like if he started out forty years ago? You need to take into account the general crappiness of todays music.

I never understood this whole "Marvin Gaye of our time".
There is no Marvin of our time & it's definitly not R Kelly.
/peace Manki

manki said:

WELL, AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MARVIN

R. KELLY????

rialb said:

WTF? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Are you on crack?

VoicesCarry said:

I am.

VoicesCarry said:

I did point out that they are worlds apart. But if you had to pick an artist from today who is similar to Marvin Gaye I don't think R. Kelly is a bad choice. Who would you say is similar to Marvin Gaye in today's music? And no I am not on crack!

rialb said:

No one is similar to Marvin Gaye, since there's only one Marvin. Other than the fact that they're both black and (well, R. Kelly much less so these days) fall under the "soul/R&B" category, there is simply no comparison. One does factory produced shit-pop, while the other is a legend in his field. One's built a career around tawdry "come to daddy" material, while the other wrote some classic sexual songs in his later career (and certainly didn't rely on them exclusively). Come on.

What's next, Britney Spears being compared to Donna Summer because they both do dance music? Or maybe Jennifer Lopez is this generation's Gloria Estefan?

If I had to compare someone to Marvin Gaye, I would say Brian McKnight is most in tune with Gaye's essence.
[This message was edited Sat Apr 3 7:55:35 2004 by VoicesCarry]

Supernova said:

Thank you.

Shapeshifter said:

Wow! That's pretty scary.

Bottom line, it's really not that serioius and most of you are responding like I said "R. Kelly is The Second Coming." Calm down.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 5 6:18:53 2004 by okaypimpn]

okaypimpn said:

perhaps in real life, but people are overblowing the musical aspects to the highest degree.